Page 8 - Crappie NOW| October2015

By Terry Madewell

T aking a crappie fishing trip to a

new lake can be the ultimate adventure
for a diehard crappie angler. That’s
especially true when fishing reports
are outstanding, making some anglers
think they may have to hide behind a
tree to bait their hook the crappie are
so prolific and hungry.
But slaying the slabs as soon as
you launch your boat is seldom the
reality. The information about crappie
being prolific and huge can be true.
But without a well thought out game
plan it usually takes time to form the
productive patterns of how, when and
where to catch crappie from a new, to
you, lake.
Crappie professionals have
by necessity developed tactics to
straighten the learning curve on
fishing lakes for the first time. One
highly successful tournament angler
has developed his personal regimen
of tactics to help quickly adapt to the
idiosyncrasies of a new lake.
Dan Dannenmueller is a
converted bass tournament angler
now passionate about crappie fishing.
The 62-year old Alabama angler has
focused on crappie tournaments for the
past seven years and has developed
an action plan for working new waters.
“Years of fishing for other species
have helped me hone skills and
knowledge to prepare for competitive
crappie fishing,” Dannenmueller said.
“I quickly learned that I had to have
a game plan in hand before I got to a
lake for the first time so I could vastly
reduce the time spent searching for and
developing patterns. Many variables
exist among lakes such as those with
lots of vegetation and those with almost
none. Some lakes have well-define

8 Crappie NOW October 2015